November 2008

November 29, 2008

The Cowboys have finally made it official -- left guard Kyle Kosier's season is over as he was placed on injured reserve Saturday. He sprained his right foot for the third time this year against the 49ers and is expected to have surgery.

Dallas signed linebacker Steve Octavien off the Washington Redskins practice squad to fill Kosier's roster spot. Left guard Montrae Holland made his first start against Seattle in place of Kosier and played well. The Cowboys traded for Holland in the preseason when Kosier suffered his first injury but had barely played.

November 28, 2008

The Cowboys got some good news on two injured players Friday. The MRI results were negative on outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and running back Marion Barber. Both players were forced out of Thursday's victory vs. Seattle.

Ware, who suffered a hyperextended left knee, did not have any ligament damage. Barber has a dislocated right pinkie toe and did not suffer a fracture. Both players will receive treatment over the weekend and it seems the extra time off will help their chances of playing at Pittsburgh on Dec. 7.

November 27, 2008

Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher deserves props for creating the turkey dance he and his defensive teammates used again and again on Thursday when they were in the process of turning Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck into the fabric of the Texas Stadium turf.Hatcher was playing catch with defensive end Marcus Spears this week when after making one nifty sideline catch he broke into the dance."I did the Billy 'White Shoes' first," Hatcher said. "I said, 'You know what, we need to break it into the turkey, and pretty much all of the guys bought into it."It was his idea that his teammates should use it after big plays, and any time one didn't a fine was coming. Not sure what the fine was, but at least one player - Terence Newman - apparently has a fine coming.

The Cowboys evened their record against the NFC West to 2-2. That's awful. One of those losses came against the Rams. The Rams, dude.That said, the Cowboys are 8-4 thanks to consecutive whuppins' of the 49ers and Seadogs at Texas Stadium. The questions for the masses are, are you impressed? And do you trust this team won't let you down (again) in December?

Losing Marion Barber is not part of the equation. The Cowboys running back is hurting enough without Felix Jones, but if it loses Barber it's going to be a real struggle to run anywhere.Rookie Tashard Choice didn't look too bad against the Seahawks - he rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries. But he is the same type of runner as Barber. Everything is inside and there is no breakaway speed.I asked Jerry Jones if he was worried about his running back depth and he said, "No, I'm not."So I followed with a "Why not?"Jerry said, "Tashard played pretty good. We have a good running back on the practice squad. We're in pretty good shape."In case you're wondering, and I was, Alonzo Coleman is the practice squad running back. And the Cowboys are so high on him he remains there.The moral of this story? Hope Marion Barber can keep playing. The Cowboys need at least Barber and Choice to have some running game.

Marion Barber suffered a dislocated right pinkie toe, according to Jerry Jones. Not sure what it is about the pinkie digits on the Cowboys backfield, but even running backs coach Skip Peete said he'd never seen anything like it.As his usual mute self, Barber chose not to talk to the media after the game. For a team captain, he sure is accountable.

DeMarcus Ware's injury doesn't look quite so bad. Both players will be evalauted with MRIs and X-rays, which we may not know anything about until Monday, but neither looks quite too serious. Expect Ware to play against the Steelers but Barber isn't a lock. I still expect Barber to play.

Here's what Terrell Owens had to say after finishing with 5 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday:

... I think we are improving. We are getting better week to week, and obviously it shows what we can do if we put our minds to it and our capabilities.

... (Romo) is getting there. If you ask him, I think he would say he is not 100-percent. But he is getting there and I think he is ready to come out of that split, but he is doing a great job. The front line gives him time, and when there is a break loose every now and then, he will move around and make plays with his feet as well as his eyes and arms. So he is doing a great job.

... I think everyone knows the importance of these last games down the stretch, and if someone needs to say something -- whether it's a captain or whoever -- they will speak up. But I think everyone knows the importance of the games, and there is really not a whole lot to be said, except just go out there and play.

... I think everyone knows the importance of the game, and knowing that we need to win out in order to get to the playoffs. And I think once we get to the playoffs, it's any man's game up until that point. But we can't look into the playoffs already. We have to win these stretch few game we have left.

Here's what Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had to say after throwing for 331 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-9 win over the Seattle Seahawks:How close to 100% is the finger? It's getting closer. I would be very surprised if I wore the splint against Pittsburgh, but you never know what will happen within the next week or so.On the offensive line: I thought the o-line played outstanding tonight. Some of the protection and moving around, we had a couple of miscommunications by the backs just to their guy, so we missed on that. But those are easily correctable. We had a couple of big plays we left out there and if we can protect that up.

On the importance of momentum heading into December: You're supposed to go out there and try and win games. When I got back on the field, I was hoping I was going to be able to help this football team after the injury. I felt like we had a good chance to come out and win some games. This team never lost confidence. We went through a rough patch there and we are still not out of it. We still have to keep going forward and putting together wins to get in the playoffs, but I do know that our confidence level is where I feel like on any given Sunday, we can play with anybody. It will be interesting to see how we can continue to go forward.On Roy Williams getting the ball: He cares. He still wants the ball, just like T, just like Witten, Crayton, they all want the ball. They just do a good job of hiding it from you guys sometimes. But it's great because he is a high character guy. He runs good routes. He is a great player and we're lucky to have him. I am excited about the possibility of this offense going forward. We are still mising some pieces, and we got injuries and we are still trying to overcome certain things. That's the stuff you got to keep playing through and hopefully this season, that won't be the reason why it doesn't end the way we want it to. We are hoping to write a chapter that moves on and goes deep into the playoffs, and hopefully the Super Bowl, if we can get there -- into the playoffs, and if that is the case, we have overcome a lot and we will be really excited about that.

On Jason Witten: Jason Witten is the aboslute perfect tight end in all ways. He runs great routes. He blocks in the backfield,and he is a good run blocker. His timing is impeccable. He's got good hands. His size, and then on top of that, he is a tough guy and a high-character guy. He is a really easy guy to play with and makes everyone around him better.

Here's what Wade Phillips had to say after his team's 34-9 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

... I thought this was a must-win game for us. I thought the offense, defense, and special teams came through. All of them played well.

... We had a couple of guys banged up. Marion Barber got his foot stepped on. The X-rays were negative ... DeMarcus Ware was walking up the tunnel and said he felt a lot better. But we're still going to evaluate that.

... Offensively, we threw the ball really well. We spread it out to a lot of different people. I thought Tony (Romo) had a really good game. (Tashard) Choice came in later in the game. I thought he did a good job for us. When Marion went out, I thought it was a good thing he came and showed he can run with the ball and help in those situations in case Marion isn't in the game.

... Defensively, we keep playing really well. In the red zone, we're getting better and better obviously. It seems like when we get our back to the wall a little bit, we get after them. Our pass rush was really good. Hasslebeck had not been sacked that much. Their team overall had, but he hadn't. I thought we really got after him and got after the passing game. We played well.

... Overall, it was a good effort by everybody.

... We saw (Choice) in preseason and we felt good about what he could do. It's a good thing that this happened again because we got a chance to see him play against people stacked up against the run. He had one really good run called back. But he had a good day, I think.

... Three weeks ago, we're looking at a different thing. Of course, the last part of the season is going to be big for everybody. You can see how the climate can change quickly in this league. You've got to do what you need to do. What you need to do is win and get on a winning streak. We started that.

... (Ware) is a great player. They gave him The Turkey ... we all know what kind of player he is. He never ceases to amaze you. Great players keep making great plays. He does that game after game. He plays the run about as good as any outside linebacker that I've been around. He doesn't rush the passer every play.

... We stuff the running game really well, which made them one-dimensional early in the game. You could tell they couldn't run the football on us. That was important, too.

... (The 10-day break) is a big plus for us because we do get to rest a little bit. It's tough going through that. The thing you worry about in the short week is getting some injuries. It looks like we made it through it all right. Those guys should be abck.

... We want to be the best team with the best attitude.

... The next game is the most important. That's where we are. The Pittsburgh game, that's the one we're pointing towards. We are trying to win games one at a time. This is a different team in a different year. We'll see what happens.

... Any time you lose DeMarcus Ware, it's going to be a problem for you. I think he'll be back. Hopefully, he will.

... I think (Witten) is almost well. He's played with a lot of pain this year. He's had a tough time as far as getting banged up. He told me this week that he felt better. I think he showed that in the game.

... I think our defense is playing better. When we went through that down streak, I think our defense had more mental toughness. You hate to lose, but I think it made them tougher ... I think we learned something.

... I think we are starting to hit our stride. We've got a lot of weapons. Roy Williams made another big play for us. Martellus Bennett scores a touchdown every game. We have a lot of weapons and our quarterback can get the ball to them.

... We have a good rush team. We get a lot of hits on the quarterback. It's something you have to do, I think, to be able to win.